Falling For A Redhead
by Ilse O'Hara
Summary: Hermione Granger comes to visit her old Transfiguration professor to tell her something rather important... I guess you could say spoilers for book six and seven. Rated T now because of angst and possibly language. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, greetings to all (or…any) readers! I have been appalled with myself for my lack of updating. (Yeah…you know that longer Robin fic? It's coming along) Anyway, this idea came to me while having an interesting conversation with a friend about redheads…**

**Timeframe: Couple years after Deathly Hallows. Albus lives! **

Hermione Granger strode purposefully through the corridors of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No longer a student and neither a teacher, Hermione was here to pay a visit to a former professor and friend. As she reached the appropriate office, she noted the time. It was after three, and her surprise visit would not be interrupted by any classes. She knocked on the door nervously, clutching a purple envelope in her hands. The door opened and there stood,

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall, I'm not sure you remember me but—''

"Of course I remember you, Miss Granger. Come in," Minerva McGonagall shut the door after Hermoine. After she shut the door, she turned around. Hermoine was shocked to see tears threatening to fall from her eyes as Minerva came and gave Hermione a hug,

"You silly girl thinking I don't remember you, Hermione. Can you imagine if I hugged you out in the hallway?"

"You'd lose your reputation," Hermione interjected. The two laughed and Minerva waved Hermione over to the sofa near the fire. As she conjured up some tea, Minerva said,

"Let me say that your article in _Transfiguration Today _was quite good…extraordinary, in fact. Professor Longbottom was walking around saying, "She was my friend, this one. We had good times and some bad times. You know, I was also friends with Harry Potter," All the first years treated him like a god for weeks,"

The two laughed genuinely and spent a few moments in silence while remembering the final war. Hermione remembered, with a jolt, the reason for which she had come.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Hermione, do call me Minerva. You are no longer a student," For a moment, Minerva's strict teacher's voice came back and Hermione quelled for a spell until they both laughed again.

"Anyway, Min-Minerva, the reason why I came here is to…well you see…that is,"

"For heavens' sake, Hermione, you were never one to stutter,"

"I—here," Hermione said, quite embarrassed. She gave Minerva the purple envelope. Minerva smiled at the ever so neat handwriting curled meticulously across the front—how long it had been since she had seen Hermione's perfect penmanship—and she opened it.

_Mr. and Mrs. Granger_

_And_

_Mr. and Mrs. Weasley _

_Request your presence at the marriage of their children_

_Hermione Jean Granger _

_And_

_Ronald Billius Weasley_

_On the Thirtieth of June_

_Merlin Cathedral, London_

_At five p.m._

Minerva read the invitation once. She read the invitation twice. Only on the third scan did the full meaning of its words make a connection in her brain. She looked at Hermione and back at the invitation, then to Hermoine. Hermione gave a sort of "Things just sort of fell into place," grin and Minerva said,

"You and Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "Ron isn't so bad now and he is so different compared to the idiot he was in school and I reallyhopeyoucancometotheweddingbecauseyouarelikeamumtomeso," Hermione's voice started getting higher and higher until she was at the hysterical point, which she hadn't needed to use since the war. Minerva got up slowly and turned to the fire. Hermione got up as well but did not approach her. When Minerva turned around, she had tears in her eyes and she ran to hug Hermione again,

"You invited me to your wedding," she said

"Of course I did, Prof-Minerva,"

"You thought I was like your mother," Minerva, for the life of her, couldn't figure out why she couldn't stop crying.

"You did so much for us," Hermione didn't know what else to do besides hold onto her former teacher and hope she would stop soon. As she held Minerva, a soft voice from the doorway said,

"Miss Granger, I'd best take it from here if you don't mind,"

Hermione jerked her head over her shoulder and saw Albus Dumbledore striding over near the fireplace. She gave him a smile before handing over Minerva. To her surprise, Albus took Minerva right into his arms and said,

"What's wrong, love?"

"Oh, Albus, Her-Hermione invit-ted me to her wedding,"

"Well that's wonderful! I am sure Mrs. Weasley is ecstatic," he said, more to Hermione than to Minerva. Hermione's level of shock was clearly evident.

"No-no student has ever come back to-to visit me,"

"Oh, Min, they just don't have time. I trust that you'll go?"

"Of-of course. I am sorry. I don't know what came over me. I'll be right back," Minerva bustled off into her bathroom to clean herself up. Hermione looked at Albus and casually said,

"How long have you two been married, sir?"

Albus was shocked, "My dear girl, always observant. Let's see…I believe it will be thirty years this December,"

"That's wonderful! You will come to the wedding?"

"Of course, Hermione," Albus said, kindly putting a hand on her shoulder, "You've made Minerva very happy today,"

"It's the least I could do,"

The two of them chatted about things, laughing at the hilarious anecdote involving Molly Weasley receiving some fan mail about her remark to Bellatrix Lestrange just before the latter fell at the former's hand. Then, as Albus wiped the tears from his eyes, he said very quietly,

"And how is Harry, Hermione?" At this, the gaiety left Hermione's eyes and she looked towards her shoes. "Does he seem better?"

"Well, sir, yes and no. He is fine whenever Ginny is around, or when Ron and I are talking with him. But whenever he goes somewhere, he is stopped by, well, fans,"

"Naturally, naturally," murmured Albus.

"And, don't get me wrong, he is always gracious with them, but when he gets home, he shuts himself in his room and refuses to eat or, or even to see anyone!"

"Does he still wear black?"

"Always. I wonder why, though,"

"He is mourning. And, I suspect, that he is, shall we say, paying a tribute to Severus,"

At this Hermione grew silent. Luckily, Minerva then emerged saying,

"What have you two been talking about?"

"Hermione and I were discussing how you and she were unfortunate enough to fall for redheads," Minerva blanched. She looked quickly from Hermione to Albus and back to Hermione.

"Albus, does she, I mean Hermione, do," she spluttered

"Professor, it's all right. Albus told me you were married. I myself had suspected," Minerva beamed,

"Always clever, my dear. May I ask since when?"

"Certainly," Hermione laughed, "it was at one of the Order meetings. We were sitting around the table. Albus, you were in the kitchen and Minerva you got up to take some of the tea things away. I wanted to help you because there was quite a lot and I followed you. I saw you put the dishes near the sink and bow your head a little. Albus walked over from the cupboards and he put one hand on your shoulder. Just for a moment,"

Minerva closed her eyes, reveling in the memory.

"And then you looked at him and…I don't know…I just sort of…knew," she finished, shyly. Minerva smiled and said,

"Thank you. I remember that night very well. And I guess that explains why the rest of the tea things were floating in the hallway without a person in sight?"

Hermione blushed, "Yes, I thought you might want some privacy,"

"Thank you, my dear,"

The rest of the afternoon was spent in conversation and an unwilling goodbye. As Hermione Flooed home, Minerva felt a pang of sadness, but looked forward to their promised Sunday dinner at the Three Broomsticks. It was late now, and Kingsley had called in Albus for some advice and she was alone. As she was sitting down with her tea, there came a knock on her door. As she opened the door, a soft voice said,

"Good evening, Professor McGonagall. I am sorry to bother you at this hour but may I please speak with you?" As the man emerged from the shadows, Minerva felt tears spring up into her eyes as she answered,

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Please come in,"

**A/N: I am so cruel! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! (cough, cough) Okay (cough), seriously. Cliffhanger endings are cruel but I will be assured reviews that way! Please leave any and all feedback possible—I live for constructive criticism! I hope you liked the change in events…Albus should never have been killed in my opinion and Harry I think needs more time to deal with the gravity of the Final War so…that is just my reasoning…Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello all! Thank you thank you thank you for the reviews and the favorite stories! It really made my day! I am sorry about leaving you with a cliffhanger but the technique seemed to work. This is the second part of the story. **

**On a side note, I just went to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago! It was totally awesome! I saw all this stuff from the movies (including things from Half-Blood Prince, so it was like a preview). I stood three feet away from Minerva McGonagall's Yule Ball Costume and I was like, "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG" (I really really like Minerva :) and Gilderoy Lockhart's dueling costume was there as well. For as much as I despise Gilderoy Lockhart, he really did look hot in that dueling outfit in Chamber of Secrets…**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

_It was late now, and Kingsley had called in Albus for some advice and she was alone. As she was sitting down with her tea, there came a knock on her door. As she opened the door, a soft voice said, _

_"Good evening, Professor McGonagall. I am sorry to bother you at this hour but may I please speak with you?" As the man emerged from the shadows, Minerva felt tears spring up into her eyes as she answered, _

_"Of course, Mr. Potter. Please come in,"_

"Thank you," Harry said as he walked in the dark, fire-lit room. He stood in the middle, not knowing where to go and blending in with the shadows. Minerva shut the door and turned around,

"Well, Mr. Potter, do sit down unless you'd rather not" Minerva said, kindly but sharply at the same time. Harry jumped a little. He sat down in a chair by the fire. Minerva settled herself across from him in another chair. He didn't look the same. He was pale, gaunt, and his glasses were no longer round—no, now they were rectangular and sliver. His hair was still short and he wore all black a la Severus. He had on a black shirt, black vest, and black pants. His cloak billowed behind him as he walked, and, as it had become chilly, he held black gloves in his hands.

"I, well, I'm not sure why I'm here," Harry began, looking at the floor, "I just needed to…well…"

"Well what, Mr. Potter?" Minerva said, "What do you expect? Do you want me to sit here and say, 'Poor, Mr. Potter, Poor Harry,"?

Harry jerked his head up in surprise, "I...no…what?'

"You expect me to feel sorry for you like every body else in the wizarding community?" Minerva said, extremely harshly. This boy was finally going to get his act together and she was going to set him straight, "You, the Savior To The Wizarding world, is feeling sorry for himself. No, it's too much for him to deal with his guilt that he can't even let the woman he loves back into his life. No, God forbid that anyone else, like, hmmm, I don't know, Lord Voldemort should take the blame for the war and all its losses because, oh, it's all Harry's fault. Yes, that's it. It's his fault that all those innocent people were killed because it really wasn't Tom Riddle calling all the shots, nope, it was Harry Potter. Harry Potter killed his own parents. Harry Potter started his conquest against the Muggles and Muggle-borns. Harry Potter killed Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Fred Weasley, and, oh, who am I forgetting, SEVERUS SNAPE! AND NOW HE FEELS GUILTY SO HE STARTS WEARING SNAPE"S OLD CLOTHES! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM ME POTTER?"

Harry was stunned. Minerva was angry. Really angry. She had stood up now and was glaring at him, posture ramrod straight, eyes blazing, hands on her hips. And now, the gravity of Minerva's words hit him. Harry stood up as well and walked up to Minerva—the two pairs of green eyes were blazing at each other.

"YOU REALLY EXPECT THAT THAT IS WHAT I FEEL?" Harry bellowed, a full head taller than his former professor. Minerva didn't even flinch.

"YES THAT IS WHAT I BLOODY EXPECT THAT YOU FEEL LIKE. YOU AND ALBUS HAVE THE SAME BLOODY NOBLE STREAK IN YOU AND DAMN IT, I TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN TO FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF!"

"OH YEAH? WELL….WELL….I….you're right," Harry started but then finished. His shoulders slumped and he sort of crumpled back down into the little, unloved eleven year old he had been. He turned away from Minerva towards the fireplace. Nobody spoke. Minerva was on the verge of saying something when she noticed Harry's shoulders shaking. She walked quietly up to him. He was crying. She immediately felt horrible.

"Mr. Potter…Harry, look at me," Minerva said, forcefully. Harry turned, still crying. Minerva walked slowly up to him and said, "None of this…none of what happened is your fault. I want you to know that," Harry sort of nodded. She said, "Harry, I just want you to stand still," She gently took his arms down from his eyes, and took his glasses from his hands. She put them down and slowly, ever so gently, put her arms around him and whispered, "Oh, my little lion," And Harry broke. He cried for everything—those lost in the war, himself screwing up with Ginny, his parents. And Minerva cried too. She cried because she remembered when Hagrid had arrived back carrying Harry in his arms. She had been the first to see and she remembered the pain, the inexplicable pain she had felt. Harry was hers. He was her little lion and she was as good as his mother.

After a while, Harry pulled himself together. He hadn't known that Minerva had been crying and when he saw that she was, he said,

"Professor, are you all right?" Minerva smiled, tears just sort of falling now, and said,

"I am fine, Mr. Potter,"

"Please…professor…just Harry,"

"Well, than drop the whole professor nonsense and call me Minerva!"

They laughed and Harry, said, quietly,

"Thank you for giving me the kick in the pants I deserved,"

"You're welcome, Harry. Can I ask you why you came here?"

"Oh," Harry looked like he didn't quite know how to answer, "well, I dunno, when ever I think of a family, I always see Professor Dumbledore as my dad and, well, you as my mum," he finished, embarrassed. This made Minerva have even more tears threatening to fall. Harry then looked up even more horrified, "Wait! That cam out wrong! Not that you two are…well…ummm…involved," Harry was really embarrassed now. He started blushing furiously. As he looked up expecting to see the wrath of Minerva McGonagall again, he was floored at her response.

She laughed. Genuinely laughed. He hadn't seen her smile much but she was holding her sides and tears were falling.

"Um, Prof—I mean, Minerva?"

"Wait until I tell Albus! HAHAHAHA!"

"I'm sorry that it didn't…you see,"

"HAHAHAHAHA….If it's any interest to you Harry," she broke off, laughing even harder. To Harry, hell had frozen over.

"Err, yes, Minerva?"

"HAHAHAHA…we've been married for almost thirty years,"

Harry's level of shock made her laugh even harder. Pretty soon, the two of them were laughing uncontrollably—Harry hadn't in ages. As the two of them were trying to stop, they heard a voice from the doorway,

"Care to let me in on your little joke, Minerva and Harry?"

**A/N: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Another cliffhanger! Seriously though, I'm not a cruel person, really. Occasionally I get a little…into it but I swear, I'm not usually like this! Anyway, I hope you liked it…I know it's terribly out of character but the part where Minerva shapes Harry up is quite nice, I think. Anyway, please leave feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, people. Sorry about the wait. I was really really busy. A few orders of business first:**

**To all of those who left review, thank you so much. They really made my day. However, to the anonymous reviewer who signed as "hahahaha", a few things. Thank you first and foremost for leaving feedback. However, was the profanity really necessary? I can understand your unhappiness but please try and find a way to more eloquently express your frustration. Also, as for me, "learning how to write a story," I would love to learn how to write a great story. I would look to your obvious expertise on the matter but as you are not registered on this site, I was not able to find any of your work. As for the spelling mishaps, that fault is mine entirely and I have fixed the problem. Thank you.**

**Note number two: These characters are obviously not mine. I am just borrowing them, savvy?**

**Note number three: Don't know from where that Pirates of the Caribbean reference came. Sorry.**

_Harry's level of shock made her laugh even harder. Pretty soon, the two of them were laughing uncontrollably—Harry hadn't in ages. As the two of them were trying to stop, they heard a voice from the doorway,_

_"Care to let me in on your little joke, Minerva and Harry?"_

The laughing stopped as abruptly as it had started. Minerva looked at Albus, who was striding into the room, a small smile on his face, yet the twinkle not reaching his eyes. Harry stood up. Minerva walked over to Albus and hugged him, kissing him on the cheek. She whispered, so as Harry could not hear,

"I've already…erm…given him a talking to,"

That was all that needed to be said. Albus nodded. Harry still stood in the same spot—rooted. The tension was so great that Minerva went to switch the white and the black pieces to opposite ends of the chessboard so as to have something to do. Albus walked towards Harry. As he approached, Harry said, fumbling,

"Sir—I—''

Albus held up his hand and shook his head slightly. He was close to Harry now, and the pain in his eyes shone forth like the lantern from a lighthouse across a stormy sea. Harry stopped, like he had been struck. Minerva was frantic now—she couldn't even focus on where the queen was supposed to go when she heard Albus say,

"I tend to find, at moments like these, that words are hardly ever necessary,"

With that, he opened his arms a little. Harry understood and as the two greatest wizards of the time embraced, Minerva felt even more tears glisten. The forgotten pieces clattered as she dropped the rest of them and approached Harry and Albus. First going to Harry she said before pulling him in a tight embrace,

"All will be well. You'll see," Harry nodded, smiling weakly. The lifting of the muscles in his face still felt foreign, like an old friend one meets suddenly in an unexpected place after many years. He watched as she turned to Albus and kissed him—not on the cheek. Harry couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he watched the two of his most important mentors' love show so openly. He felt immensely privileged. The two turned around and looked at him, seeing his smile. Minerva laughed again. Albus turned to her, a bemused expression showing clearly on his face while saying,

"What, my dear?"

"Oh…hahahahaha…Albus…hahahaha. It's just that…hahahahahaha…. Harry has fallen for a redhead too!"

The three of them laughed together, and Harry felt an inexplicable happiness rush in him. The war was truly over, and this is what he had to look forward to. He knew that Minerva and Albus had sacrificed much over the years to keep their relationship secret, and he knew that now the whole world would be able to know. The world would know that there is a striking pattern in people falling in love with redheads.

THE END!

Hope you liked. Please review. 


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